When Pasadena last chose a mayor, in 2013, about 7 percent of its registered voters determined who would lead the industrial port city of 150,000. Mayor Johnny Isbell, who won re-election by an overwhelming margin, attributed the paltry turnout to public satisfaction with "the direction the city is headed."

Four years later, there is ample reason to question that sanguine assessment. But history suggests that turnout will again be low as voters in Pasadena, Pearland and other Houston-area communities choose mayors, council members and school trustees. Early voting started Monday, and election day is May 6.

Scolding reminders of our duty to exercise our precious right to vote can be tiresome. And notwithstanding the admonitions of your high school civics teacher, you still can complain even if you don't vote.

Still, sheer self-interest compels us to remember that elections have consequences. The news over the past few months has provided daily reminders of this truism on the national level, but it applies at least as much in local elections.

A year ago, just 2,744 Pearland residents - 4.3 percent of the fast-growing city's registered voters - cast ballots in an election that included three City Council seats and three school trustee positions, according to the Community Impact newspaper. In Friendswood, 9 percent of voters - 2,422 residents - cast ballots for two city council seats and two sales tax increases.

Election fatigue

The timing of the elections may be a factor in the turnout. With certain exceptions, Texas law permits elections on the first Saturday in May or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. (This doesn't include party primaries, conducted in March.)

If the goal is high turnout, the choice between spring and fall is not as simple as it might seem. More people are off work on a Saturday than a Tuesday, obviously, a factor that argues for the May date. But state and national general elections happen in November, and interest may lag without the drama of a contest for governor, Congress or the presidency.

And in the aftermath of an intense presidential campaign laden with emotion, like the one last year, politics may be the last thing people want to think about six months later.

"Election fatigue is a factor in Texas because we elect absolutely everything down to the dogcatcher," said longtime Houston political consultant Nancy Sims. (She was exaggerating a bit, but until 2007 Texas ballots included the position of "hide inspector," a job created in the 19th century to thwart cattle rustling.)

People who are not deeply engaged with politics tend to think of fall as election season, consultant Keir Murray noted. A May election, he said, "reduces the voter pool down to the people who pay attention to those more localized issues, and it may be more likely to preserve the status quo."

Indeed, conventional wisdom holds that low turnout benefits incumbents, conservatives and Republicans. And while party affiliation might not be officially acknowledged in nonpartisan local elections, its influence is increasingly apparent.

Tipping the balance

On Wednesday evening, about 40 people sat on folding chairs in the Area 5 Democrats' office in a Pasadena strip center to hear remarks from candidates. One wall was covered with photos of party luminaries: Lloyd Bentsen, Lyndon B. Johnson, both Kennedy brothers, Hillary Clinton and many others.

It's often said that the tasks of local government - paving the streets, picking up the trash - don't recognize party labels. But when low turnout is all but taken for granted, party messaging on hot-button social issues can fire up the base and tip the balance in a close race. Consider the reaction, which I explored in a recent column, to a Pearland voter's concerns about "liberal gay rights Democrats" running for office in that community.

"The first step in changing reality is to accept reality," Pasadena council candidate Oscar del Toro told the party faithful at the gathering Wednesday evening. "This is a partisan election."

It remains to be seen whether increased party efforts to organize, mobilize and engage voters in local elections result in higher turnout. But you might give a thought to the pothole in front of your house, and the cost of a front-end alignment, when you consider how to spend your Saturday.